BANKS Embraces Womanhood On Latest Album: 'I'm In A Very Different Place'

By James DinhOct 8, 2019

Almost three years since her hiatus from the industry, BANKS is feeling her womanhood like never before and it's written all over her latest album. III. Drenched in the same sedative nature as her first two efforts, the singer has adjusted her input. Not only has she elevated her soundscape, but her lyrics have transitioned from that of a naive romantic to an assured woman keen to learn and grow from her mistakes. So, for the first time in her career, she teamed up with new songwriters to pen an LP with more urgency and confidence than she ever exuded in the past.

"I think, initially, I kind of crashed and I just felt like so beyond exhausted," the brooding singer/songwriter, 31, admitted to iHeartRadio of the years after her debut. "After a few months relaxing, just like giving yourself what you think you need, I started feeling really good and it was just really nice to kind of relearn how to live in one place again. I was in London for a few sessions, but I pretty much made the whole album in L.A., which is where I'm from, so, it was really good."

Alongside collaborators like BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Miley Cyrus), Tim Anderson (Solange, Wynter Gordon), among others,BANKS pushed the empowerment train towards a sonic lane that she helped establish before the popularization of Billie Eilish and Halsey. She said she doesn't think about how she spearheaded that mix of genres, but the 13-track set certainly feels familiar, yet fresh, particularly lead single, "Gimme." "I'm definitely in a very different place than I used to be. You know, everybody goes through stuff, but I feel like allowing yourself to be human is important," she continued.

While the singer has her focus on her third studio album and its accompanying North American tour, she has also been able to tap into her "wise woman voice" for a new poetry book, Generations of Women From the Moon Poetry Book, which includes original poems and hand-drawn sketches by the star. "It's like the voice that soothes me. It's like when you're anxious or depressed or this or that, and you have all those brain patterns that you're trying to work through, but deep down underneath, you know that it's all okay," she said of her inner voice.

Scroll on below to watch our full interview with BANKS, where she discussed returning to the stage for her trek, recording the III opening track in just two hours and more on her poetry book, which accompanied the release of her latest album.